Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sleeper]

Hi, there!

Today I'd like to ask you about ellipsis in the context.

Look at the following dialogue.

A: One hamburger and one large apple juice, please.
B: All right. Anything else?
A: No, that' all. How much?

What words are omitted after the word 'much'?
#1. How much is it?
#2. How much are they?
#3. How much is the hamburger and apple juice?
#4. How much are the the hamburger and the apple juice?

Which of these four sentences is correct?

I am looking forward to your answer and explanation.

Thanks.

[redset]

In this conversation you're asking for the total price at the end, so really 'how much' means 'how much is it?', 'it' being the total.

#2 sounds a little bit like you're asking for the price of each item, instead of the total. This would work just as well as #1 though.
#3 is the same as #1, except you're explicitly mentioning the hamburger and apple juice again. Since B knows you're talking about them, it sounds strange to say their names again. 'How much are they?' (like in #2) is much more natural.
#4 sounds unnatural like #3, because you're saying 'hamburger' and 'apple juice' again. Also, because you're saying 'how much *are*' (using the plural of the be verb) you're talking about the two items separately, so it sounds like you want to know the individual prices instead of the total.

They're all technically correct English, but #1 and #2 sound the most natural in this dialogue, and #1 is definitely asking for the total.

I hope that was useful, I'm new on here